(This post is quite long and pondering, and
even somewhat existential, and I won’t be offended if you just skip it and go
straight to check in.)
On Friday, I went to a yoga class, probably
the first I’ve gone to in at least a year. I’ve been doing a bit of yoga at
home, but now that I’m finished with the semester and don’t have a PhD thesis
to write, I can go to a class. As much as I like my (sporadic) home practice,
classes are good because they push me, and I learn new things.
Yesterday, after a brief vinyasa flow, we
worked on balance in a starfish pose. The teacher encouraged us to find a focal
point for our gaze. I’ve heard that advice many times, but yesterday was the
first time I remember the teacher putting a name to the practice of that focused
gaze: drishti. According to Yoga
Basics,
A drishti (view or gaze) is a specific focal point that is employed
during meditation or while holding a yoga posture. The ancient yogis discovered
that where our gaze is directed our attention naturally follows, and that the
quality of our gazing is directly reflected in the quality of our mental
thoughts. When the gaze is fixed on a single point the mind is diminished from
being stimulated by all other external objects. And when the gaze is fixed on a
single point within the body, our awareness draws inwards and the mind remains
undisturbed by external stimuli. Thus, the use of a drishti allows the mind to
focus and move into a deep state of concentration. And the constant application
of drishti develops ekagraha, single-pointed focus, an essential yogic
technique used to still the mind.
Of course, when
thinking about drishti, I couldn’t help but think of our TLQ group, along with
some other things that have been on my mind lately. As I noted in my
introduction last week, my mother, who is an artist and active member of the
community, had a sudden attack of transverse myelitis. This means that she went
from being perfectly healthy to being partially paralyzed. The good news is
that she is improving, but she is still using a walker and a wheelchair to get
around.
As cliché as it
sounds, this event has made me think about how quickly things can change, and
how I need to “live for the moment” and all that. But what does that mean? Like
heu mihi (and I’m paraphrasing here), I often fear I won’t make the most of
things when I should/could.
During these sessions,
we’ve often asked ourselves, “At the end of these 14 weeks, when I sit down
with a cup of tea or glass of wine, what will I feel good to have
accomplished?” My “what if” thoughts have taken a bit more of dramatic turn
because of my mom, and I’m left thinking about what really matters. As a
result, I’ve been trying to think about what is most important to me this
session. And because of those thoughts, I was especially interested when
Contingent Cassandra set just one session goal: to move more. That is her drishti. I have been trying to figure out my drishti for this session—how I can
focus my gaze so that I can be a more balanced starfish.
Do any of you feel
like you have a drishti for this session?
As usual, you can use the typical check-in format:
- topic (unless you want to skip it)
- check-in with last week's goals
- analysis (what worked, what didn't)
- and next week's goals.
Here is more on drishti: http://www.yogajournal.com/yoga-101/the-eye-of-the-beholder
P.S. Earnest English,
if you’re out there, I think I can safely speak for the group and say we are thinking about you.
Contingent Cassandra
--tie up loose ends from the semester
as much as possible
--work in the garden at least once
Dame Eleanor Hull
*First six weeks: primary goal is
packing up my house and doing necessary maintenance to sell it. I'm trying to
put in 1-2 hours a day on research and teaching tasks.
*Five weeks in UK: in addition to
teaching responsibilities, which involve field trips as well as classroom work
and grading, visit two places of personal significance, and ramp up the
research considerably, since I will be living a few minutes' walk from a major
research library that calms and inspires me.
*Final three weeks: take a week off
from all work, then prep for the fall semester, mop up whatever tasks need
mopping. With any luck, unpack in new place.
*Product goals: sell house, move;
review all sections of translation that I have yet to review; get two R&Rs
out the door (probably a good UK task); read, take notes, and move my book project
forward; finalize syllabus for UK teaching; plan for fall classes.
GEW
1) Set session goals and make some
decisions about academic writing for the near future.
2) Get grades submitted by Wednesday at
noon! (This is really TLQ, but it has a huge impact on the week, so I'm putting
it here.)
3) Swim at least once.
4) Order b-day presents for daughter,
help her with invitations.
5) Find/plan some good healthy recipes
for summer.
6) Go to dermatologist. Do not cancel
appointment!
7) Take a van load of books to donate
to the library (this might get pushed to next week, but I'll go ahead an put it
here.)
8) Help daughter remember to practice
for next weekend's piano recital.
heu mihi
1) Get to the halfway point in chapter
3 revisions (p. 22)
2) Finish reading RK; take notes on it
3) Read an article related to ch. 3
4) Pick up library books and prioritize
them
5) Finish draft of research portion of
tenure statement
humming42
1 write 5x
2 read 5x
3 write Pop revision
4 sketch on preliminary outline for
workshop
Karen
1. Mark like a machine over the
weekend.
2. Put in abstract for end of year
discipline conference.
KJHaxton
1. Recover from surgery (it was last
week) and finish up the current rounds of treatment. Negotiate return to work.
2. Submit an abstract for, create a
poster for (assuming abstract accepted) and attend conference at end of summer
3. Finish some knitting projects
4. Start and finish a printing project
JaneB
1) get as much of my own grading
finished as possible
2) have a Nagging Schedule for all the
paperwork related to grading which depends on other people doing their grading
(have I ever mentioned how much I hate team teaching?)
3) make sure all my advisees have made
appointments for 1:1 meetings, and have as many of those meetings as possible.
4) run ProblemChild analyses (try &
finish step 6 before end of weekend)
5) move a noticeable amount of stuff
every day around the house (could be a load of laundry done, a carrier bag of
recycling removed, a chair's worth of clutter organised and put into a box,
anything like that)
6) eat no refined sugar (starting
tomorrow. There was a cookie incident today. SIGH).
7) go to bed before midnight.
Matilda
1) Finish the outline of Chapter 2.
2) Write first draft of Chapter 2.
3) Finish reading a book.
4) Make a plan of the holiday coming
soon.
Susan
Well, there really isn't much time this
week, but I'll begin the deck clearing (maybe clear out some emails while I'm
away from home). Otherwise, it's just relaxing.
Waffles
1. Full draft of trans paper
2. Get aging R&R close to done
3. Make headway on relat R&R
4. Make progress on lit search for
scoping review
5. Read a few more gender articles and
add to intro
